Finding Lydia
by lindzee253
Summary: A modern take of Pride and Prejudice. This one-shot takes place after Lydia has run away from Wickham.


Elizabeth woke to urgent pounding on her apartment door. Rolling over, she looked at the bright red numbers on the alarm clock and saw 3:53 blinking back at her.

"Lizzy, wake up! We need you," Jane said, her yell carrying through the entire apartment.

Elizabeth stumbled out of bed and moved out of her bedroom towards the front door.

"Jane? What's going on?" Lizzy asked rubbing the tired from her eyes.

"It's Lydia," Jane said. Her voice cracked and Lizzy saw tear stains on Jane's cheeks and noticed the red puffiness around her eyes.

"What happened, Jane? Is she okay?" asked Lizzy.

"That's the thing. We-we don't know. She left," Jane stammered.

"Left? With who?"

"George Wickham," Jane said.

Elizabeth's complexion went completely pale as she took in the words that had just come from Jane's mouth. Wickham. Of all the people in New York City she could have run away with, it was the one man she knew to be a downright scoundrel. She thought back to Will's warnings and was filled with regret. She should have told her family when she found out what Wickham was really like.

"Let me grab my coat," Lizzy said.

Jane and Lizzy made their way from the apartment to Grand Central where Mr. Bennet waited for them. The trio sat and thought of all the places Lydia knew well enough to run away too.

"I'm sorry," Lizzy blurted out. "I should have said something. Will told me last week that Wickham was scum. I had no idea he would try something like this."

"No, Lizzy-bug, this is my fault. I should have gotten her behavior under control a long time ago. This falls on me," Mr. Bennet said.

Sitting at a table, the three mapped out where they needed to search. Coffees in hand, the trio split up with a plan to meet back at Grand Central by 8 a.m. Lizzy hugged Jane and her father goodbye and they went their separate ways.

Around 6 a.m. Lizzy's phone buzzed in her pocket. Without checking the caller ID she picked up.

"Jane? Have you found her?" Lizzy asked.

"It's not Jane," a deep baritone voice replied, "Found who? Is everything okay Liz?"

"Will, oh, hi," Lizzy stammered, "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a call from you."

"I stopped by your place, I thought we could head to the office together," Will replied, "Is everything okay?"

Liz took a deep breath trying to gather her thoughts. Her and Will had finally come to some sort of realization about their relationship and feelings, but she knew this thing with Wickham would change everything.

"Actually Will, I won't be coming into work today," Lizzy said, voice cracking as she held back tears, "I probably won't be in the rest of the week."

"Lizzy, what's going on?" Will asked. His concern was apparent and it broke her heart even more.

"It's my little sister, the youngest one, Lydia. It-um-well she's run away," Lizzy said and after a beat of silence, "with Wickham."

The silence that followed told Lizzy everything she needed to know about where her and Will stood. There was no way he would ever want to be with her now.

"It's okay, Will. I know how you feel about him. I'll just see you next week," Lizzy said before hanging up. She shook the sadness off her shoulders and kept walking towards the Lucas's. Maybe Maria knew what Lydia was up to.

On the other side of town, outside of Lizzy's apartment, Will Darcy was furious. George Wickham tarnished everything good in his life; school, Georgianna, and now Lizzy's family. He could mess with Will all he wanted, but messing with the Bennet family was the last straw. Will dialed a number on his phone.

"Fitz? It's me. I need your help."

"I know it's early, but it's an emergency."

"It's Wickham. Lizzy's youngest sister is missing and they think she ran away with him."

"Perfect. Meet me on 39th and 7th."

At 8 a.m. on the dot, Jane, Lizzy and Mr. Bennet were back in Grand Central, this time with more information. Lizzy had found that Lydia, blabbermouth that she was, _had_ told Maria Lucas all about the plan to run off with George.

 _"_ _Isn't it romantic, Lizzy?" Maria had sighed._

 _Lizzy and Charlotte shared a look and asked Maria if she knew anything about their plan._

 _"_ _Lydia told me she couldn't say much, George made her promise, but she mentioned something about a dress shop in New Haven," Maria said._

Jane's face paled, "Connecticut? Do we even know anybody in Connecticut?"

"That's where Wickham grew up," Lizzy said, "I'm sure he wanted to go somewhere he was extremely familiar with. He thinks we won't track him there."

After minutes of debating, Mr. Bennet and the girls decided that Jane and Lizzy would get on a train to New Haven, while Mr. Bennet would stay in the city in case they were still lurking somewhere on the streets.

"Your uncle is on his way and the police have been notified," Mr. Bennet said to them, "We'll call if anything on this end changes."

"We love you," the girls said in unison as they headed down towards track 32.

Already seated in a train car in the rear, Will and Fitz planned and debated how to best go about getting Lydia safely out of Wickham's clutches.

"I called around and word on the street is Mrs. Younge is back in town," Fitz told Darcy, "I'm sure that's where they are. But Will, just so you know, this might become a scene."

"I know Fitz, but this is my fault in the first place. Wickham should be behind bars right now and he would be if it wasn't for me being such a coward," Will said.

Two hours later, the train pulled into New Haven with a screeching halt. Darcy walked onto the platform and happened to look to his right, up towards the station where he saw a flash of familiar brown locks. _Lizzy?_ He thought. Will changed directions and headed towards the station, leaving a confused Fitz behind. He broke into a slow jog as the woman moved farther and farther away from him. On her right was a girl with blonde hair. It had to be Lizzy and Jane.

"Lizzy," Will yelled. Everyone on the track turned to stare as he continued, "Lizzy, Jane!"

The girls turned around and Jane gasped, "Is that Will?"

"I, I think it is," Lizzy said, flabbergasted.

Will caught up with them and couldn't help himself when he pulled Lizzy into a bone-crushing hug. He had no idea how she had even thought to come here, but he was glad she was here and safe. Fitz came up behind them and they all greeted each other.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you both," Fitz said, "but what on earth are you doing here?"

"We talked to Lydia's friend and she said Lydia mentioned New Haven so we thought we'd try here," Jane said.

The group walked together while Will and Fitz filled the girls in on their plans. Since Mrs. Younge, Wickham's old accomplice was back in the area, the men were almost certain that Lydia and Wickham would be at her house. Lizzy looked at Will with a grateful expression and he looked back, smiled his crooked smile and grabbed her hand.

"I promise we'll find her, Lizzy. Together," Will said.


End file.
